A Savior is Born
by Michaelakleblan
Summary: Emma was adopted by Regina, and now she is figuring out who she really is: the Savior. She is forced into a world she never knew truly existed. Emma will be thrown into a fairytale world where her adopted mother is the Evil Queen, her parents are Snow White and Prince Charming and her best friend is Pinocchio.
1. Chapter 1

There's something so divine about fairytales. It's the heroes. It's the purity of their journey. It's their motivation to let good waver. It's the eloquence of their victory. But the truth of every fairytale is that love will always win. Resonate in honesty and truth. Fairytales exist for people to believe in something more than this life. They exist to remind us of the infancy of our lives.

Fairytales were nothing more than just a tale, until today. Today my eyes are opened to the truth that tales expose in this world. As my fingertips feel a flood of electricity and my heart fills with hope, I'm left gasping for air. The trees surrounding me begin to quiver. Their branches struggle to hold their strength. The gray clouds grow darker, rumbling as they begin to hang directly above me. Every sound has been muted. All I can hear is my blood pumping through my veins. My body was creating a barrier. My eyes break through the emotion and connect with my dear friend's electrifying brown eyes. Our connection is soon broken as a wave boiling in my legs begins to spill over my control. The entire earth shakes as I lose control of my body and allow it to erupt. A shock of reality and change of color overcome everything. My hands are quivering as I reach down to offer him a hand. His fingers touch mine, but neither of us notice because of the world around us changing. He takes a very deep breath and looks at every one of his limbs. Back to normal.

"You did it." He managed to choke out.

Things happen for a reason, I suppose. However, not all reasons need to be explained. Sound has now soaked through and we begin to hear the screams, the cries and the shock. Neither of us knows what has happened beyond these woods. Without thinking, we begin to run. Running from or running to, there is no real motive, just instinct. At the edge of the woods we can see the towns' people. Everything is still intact, but everything has changed. People are standing around, talking, hugging and crying. One man was just looking at the sky, on his knees. August wraps his arm around my waist and kisses the side of my head. But no sooner I see him running into the chaos, leaving me hidden in the trees. He runs and he runs until I see him slow down. A sound escapes his mouth, but it's muffled. All I can see is Marco throwing his arms around August and lifting him off of his feet, with tears streaming down both of their faces.

My head is throbbing as reality begins to hit me. My feet step ahead of me, and my body follows suit. I walk into the center of town, standing in the middle of an intersection. There are no cars on the road. There is no sound but the voices whirring about. It's such a strange sight to see a town come to a halt. My hands are still shaking. I stick them in my jeans, so no one will see. My body turns in circles, taking in what it seems to be joy from everyone.

"Emma?" My name is being said over and over again. It's only about the fourth time is that I realize it's my name that's being said. I turn to see them. The heroes I have read about are standing about a yard in front of me. These people have stood against all odds but they are now standing in front of me. My whole reality is altered as I look at these once fairy-tale characters, in actual flesh, breathing the same air as me.

"Emma." Her eyes widen. His jaw drops.

"Sweetheart?" Another voice shouts from behind me. But this time I recognize it. _Mom._ Nothing has changed her. She puts her arms out just waiting for me. They yell from behind me, once more.

But instead of choosing one side over the other, I stood in my foot prints. I stood for myself. Suddenly I remembered what I had been holding this whole time. In my hands lay a sword. Bloodied and used, I trail my finger over its edge and this smirk overcomes me. Staring at my reflection in the metal, I see the dirt on my face, the bags under my eyes and the similarity between myself and my mother. My real mother, that is. I wield the sword in front of me, and tune out of the shouts and demands coming from either side. Aligning it directly with the center of my face I lower it and place it back in the holster on my waist. On either side of me was someone who loved me. When I was younger, I would have died to have this many people wanting me. It didn't feel incredible, like I always thought it might. Instead, it feels like my heart is literally being torn into half.

They have come so close I can feel their breath on my neck. My eyes dragged their way from the ground to my two very alive parents standing before me. They looked so familiar. Probably because I had spent my whole life reading about their love story. Snow White and Prince Charming had true love, and they survived many tragedies, including death. But because of their love for one another, they survived all odds. These two people, who were just heroes in a story, are now my parents.

"Emma…" She placed her hand on my cheek, and the other on my back. Just her bare hand touching my skin sent chills down my spine. "My sweet girl…You found us." She pulled me into her, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. I found myself putting my arms around her and squeezing just as tight. My father wrapped his arms around both of us and kissed the crown of my head. It didn't feel strange. It didn't even feel wrong. In fact, it felt long overdue.

"You did it, kid. You finally got your happy ending." August said from his father's embrace.

**12 hours earlier…**

She had set the dinner table perfectly. The fine china, crystal goblets, and the gold flatware were placed exactly so. She even had a vase of my favorite flowers, white lilies, and two candles. A small box wrapped in purple paper with a silver bow sat alone at the other end. I stared at it from my seat, thinking of all the possible gifts that could fit in the box. We were supposed to have eaten an hour ago, but she burned the first roast, so she had to start all over. My mother never claimed she was a good cook. She knew she wasn't very good at it, but it didn't stop her from trying, all of the time.

"Alright! Here you go, birthday girl!" She proudly placed a piece of roast beef on my plate, served me a heap of mashed potatoes and a serving of baby carrots. I looked at the charred meat, and the potatoes that could pass as soup and drew in a brave breath. She unfolded my napkin for me and placed it in my lap, then did so with hers.

"It all looks great, Mom, thanks!" I pushed my fork into the roast and tried to saw it off. I could see her eyes on me, watching with disappointment. But I played it off well, as though I didn't know that meat shouldn't need a chainsaw to be cut up.

"How was school?" She started eating, choking down her food and then swallowing only with a gulp of water.

"It was fine. I aced my Language Arts exam."

Every year on my birthday we had dinner together. It was usually my favorite meal, followed by my favorite Apple Cider cheesecake for dessert. And typically I would get the one huge gift that I have been asking for. Last year I got a stereo system that cost nearly two grand. The year before I got a laptop. This year I asked for an iPhone 5. But for some reason, I don't think a phone could fit in that box.

"That's wonderful! Oh, I forgot to tell you that tomorrow I have a meeting at five, so I won't be able to make it to your show." She never made it to my shows anyways. I had been riding competitively for ten years and she never made it to more than two shows. Sometimes I preferred it, because she just made people uncomfortable. But other times it was hard to see crowds of families for my competitors cheering them on, and no one in my corner.

"What else is new?"

"Hey…You know I want to be there, but work has to come first sometimes."

We continued to eat in silence. Once my plated had been cleared I pushed in front of me and finished drinking my water. My eyes kept looking to the clock. He was going to be waiting for me. I needed to leave within at least an hour if I wanted to make an appearance. She was eating slower than usual, but I didn't think anything of it. She stood up and disappeared into the kitchen. That gave me enough time to text him.

_ Got held up. Be there soon._

She came back carrying a plate of cheesecake with the candles shaped into a 1 and a 6. I smiled as she sang our birthday song and placed the cake in front of me with this big goofy grin. Mom wasn't very good at many things, cooking being at the very top of that list alongside caring for others, but she was pretty good at birthdays. She knew how to make you feel special on your day. Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath and deciphered through my long list of wishes that I intended on making tonight. Every birthday I would make the same wish. Just like every Christmas I would ask for the same gift: to meet my biological parents. There was a built up suspense about who my parents were. When I was little I would draw pictures of them. I always imagined my mother having beautiful, long, dark hair. She would be strong, but elegant. I'd hope her heart would be gentle and kind, but silly and sweet. My father would be a ruggedly handsome man who was over protective, but giving. He would love my mother and me more than his own life. He would have been tall, with a chiseled chin and stunning blue eyes. He would have blonde hair, like mine. They were picture perfect. Now if I could finally have the chance to meet them. But this year I didn't make that wish. Now that I was going to be sixteen it seems silly to wish for menial things like meeting two people who didn't want me to begin with. This birthday I was going to wish for the chance to break free from this spell they've cast on me and to truly begin living my life. This candle was going to be blown out with the air of freedom.

"What'd you wish for?" She always asked, and I never told her. I know it would kill her.

"Nothing…" I smirked at her and she kissed my head.

We ate our cake in silence. The only sound that could be heard was my anxiousness to leave this house and really celebrate. My cake was gone, fork was on my plate, and my plate was in the sink within five minutes. Mom was looking at her cell phone as she finished chewing.

"Okay! If you don't mind, I was going to go out with some friends…" She looked up over her emails and messaging.

"What about your gift?" The clock was running against me. There was no time for this.

"I'll open it when I get home. I won't be late." I leaned down and kissed her cheek before running to the door and sliding my boots on.

Running was like breathing. Whenever I got the chance to run I would take it with nothing but a warm embrace. Feeling the crisp, cold air seep into my lungs only pushed my legs further and my feet faster. The wind would slide through my arms, and whip through my hair. It was so rejuvenating to feel completely in control over something. Nothing in my life was mine. My mother saved me. She gave me a future that I wouldn't have had without her. My life, my grades, my intelligence, my riding technique was all due to my mother. The only thing I owned was my kindness and my ability to run and run fast. On this night, every year, I would run through the streets of Storybrooke until I was in the woods. Then I ran through the woods with such freedom, elegance and frenzy. The vines on the ground and the trees that blend in couldn't stop me. I ran until I couldn't run anymore. Wherever my body would collapse is where August would meet me. I don't know how he did it, or how he knew, but he would always find me.

Just as I expected, as soon as my body fell amongst the dirt, leaves August creeped into the darkness.

"Hey August!" I said through exasperated breaths.

"Birthday girl…" He tipped his hat to me. I grabbed the blanket from his arms and laid it out on the ground.

August and I spent every birthday of each other's together. We have since I was born. Our parents, coincidentally, left us on the same doorstep of the same orphanage on the same day. In a way he was like my brother. We were brought together for a reason, we were placed together for a reason. We decided to take all of these signs and run with it. We tried seeing each other as often as possible. My mom didn't like August. She he thought was poison. Her theory for keeping us apart was that my life needed to move on, and some people just don't move on with you. But I knew better. August took care of me while we were in foster care together. He has spent his whole life watching over me, and I wasn't going to turn my back on family.

It started on my fifth birthday. He was eleven years old. He spent the whole day traveling to Storybrooke. It took a bus and a train before he found me. He snuck into my backyard and threw rocks at my window. Just like a fairytale. We ran from my house that night, and into the woods. It was the only place my mother didn't have eyes. He has only ever given me one gift. On my fifth birthday he handed me a leather bound book full of every fairytale. We lay on the blanket, under the stars, as he read my story after story. As the years went on, we would read stories, reenact them, pretend we are in them. Anything to escape our reality for just a moment.

"Did you bring it?" I rubbed my hands together, excited to just get my hands on it.

"Have I ever forgotten it?" He pulled it out of his coat and handed me our sacred book.

Being sixteen, and him being twenty-two, didn't really change our dynamic. We were both older, both a little more mature and had a little strong grip on reality. But age didn't change our desire for a moment's escape. Now that August was out of the system he found an apartment in Maine. He found a job working at a mill just outside of Storybrooke. Every so often I would see him riding his motorcycle through town, just checking in on me. It was nice having him closer because I didn't feel so lonely. But he couldn't come anywhere near me without my mother threatening his life and my freedom. We sought comfort in each other's existence. That's all we needed.

"Which one first?" I flipped the book open and began scrambling for a story. We've read each story at least ten times. However, we were both drawn to one story. The story of true love and heroism. I flipped to the page that has been a little worn out over time. August laughed and kicked out his feet by the blanket. I began to read aloud _Once Upon a Time…_

When I was about seven years old, August was thirteen, and we spent the night reading the tale of Snow White over and over again. It was his favorite, more so than mine. As I read how Prince Charming found his way to his beloved Snow, and with one kiss of true love he was able to awaken her from a deep sleep I could see this glistening in August's eyes. It was like he was falling in love with their love. He laid on his back, folding his hands behind his head and stared at the stars above us. I remember him saying _Can you imagine having two parents so in love like them?_ But I couldn't. I've never had more than just a mother. A mother who was bitter, angry and alone. I couldn't even begin to fathom having a mother and a father, let alone them being so in love that they could conquer anything. Snow White and Prince Charming would never have given their child up. They would have fought every evil to protect their child from harm.

I began to read the tale of Snow White and Prince Charming aloud once again. Both of us lay on our stomachs, flipping the pages and falling in love with tale all over again. Without warning August yelped in pain and agony. He grabbed at his left leg, holding it and trying to concentrate on his breathing. I popped up and tried to help, but his hands just hit me away. After a minute or two passed the pain seemed to subside and he was able to sit up again. I knelt by his side, trying to figure out what I should be doing.

"What's wrong?" I gasped as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Nothing… Just a pain." He stood up, favoring his right leg, and grabbed his leather bag he left by the tree stump. "Here…." He handed me another book. "This is for you."

I took the small, leather bound book from his hands and examined it carefully. It looked as though he had stitched the pages together. The drawings and writing looked homemade. Warily, we lay back down on the blanket and examined the book.

"What is this?"

"It's a fairytale I thought you should know." He clasped his hands together and waited for me to open it.

The first page was a picture of me. I scoffed at the baby picture he glued on the paper. Underneath in script writing read _Princess Emma. _I flipped to the next page of a drawing of Snow White and Prince Charming holding me. Followed that page was a picture of the Evil Queen threatening a curse upon Snow White, Prince Charming and their entire kingdom. That curse included their baby. The next page was a picture of Gipetto and a Blue Fairy crafting something out of magical piece of wood. I looked over my shoulder at August. He was smiling.

"Keep going."

Prince Charming and Snow White placed their baby into the closet Gipetto had crafted, just as the Evil Queen was casting her curse upon the kingdom. Gipetto places Pinocchio in the closet alongside the baby. Underneath the picture reads _Gippetto placed his son in the closet with the baby so he could protect him. But he couldn't let his son go into another world without protecting the royal child, the Savior. Pinocchio promised he would watch over the princess and help her realize her fate: that one day she would save us all. _The final page was a picture of August and myself standing in front of the orphanage we had been left at. He was holding me in the blanket that I was left in. It was white, with a little bit of purple trim and my name written on the edge.

"Did you make this for me?" I laughed, looking at August. He smiled back.

"I put the book together, but it's not my story." I looked at him sideways and then hugged him.

"Well, thank you! It's beautiful. But you kind of forgot the happy ending…Every fairytale has a happy ending." I closed it gently and placed my new book on top of the other one.

"It hasn't happened yet." He stood up, using his right leg. He outstretched his hand, and he lifted me up.

"Do you want to go get your leg checked out?" I asked. But he took my hand and led us to a large rock. He climbed upon it, lifting me up beside him. The moon and the stars were brighter than ever before.

"Do you know why we meet in the woods every on your birthday?" He was mesmerized by the stars above us. They even reflected off of the gloss in his eyes.

"So my mother won't find us?" I laughed and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

"See that star right there? You can't miss it. It's the biggest and brightest." His finger pointed, and I followed his gaze. "It's called the Northern Star. Where I come from the Northern Star is used as a compass. It guides you through the hardest times in your life. When you think you're lost it will guide you back to your destiny."

"Where you're from? Where is that, August? Wonderland?" I said sarcastically. He wasn't from anywhere but here.

"No…Not Wonderland. But not too far off." He stood up, turned to face me and looked deeply into my eyes. "Emma….I've brought you here every year on your birthday because I am your last connection to your truth, to your destiny. I made a promise to my father that I would watch over you and be your Northern Star and on your 16th birthday I was going to tell you the truth."

"August, stop it. You're acting crazy."

"Just listen to me. That story you just read is your truth. You are the product of true love. You, Emma, are the child of Snow White and Prince Charming. And I'm Pinocchio. We were sent here together to avoid the curse that the Evil Queen…Regina…put on our kingdom. And on your 16th birthday you are destined to break the curse and save all of us."

August has never really been that funny. He knew how to make me laugh, but he wasn't a comedian, nor a story-teller until today. I couldn't do anything but laugh off his little tale. Maybe he was taking our obsession with fairytales a little too far. I jumped off the rock and walked back to our blanket.

"Yeah, my biological parents are Prince Charming and Snow White and my mother is the Evil Queen. Oh yeah, and you're Pinocchio. Where's Jimminy Cricket, Pinocchio? Come on, August…" My eyes couldn't roll more. But his firm grip that tugged at my hand turned the humor of his tale to seriousness.

"Emma… Look around you. Don't you think it's strange that no one can leave Storybrooke? Or that no one can remember where they're from, who they are, or what they've done before living here in Storybrooke? You can't be that oblivious. Don't you see what's around you?!"

"Yeah, it's weird! But it doesn't mean that everyone's a fairy-tale character!"

He started shaking his head back and forth. He whipped around and pulled up his pant leg. I was expecting blood, or some kind of wound from all the pain he was just in. But there was nothing. It looked perfectly healthy.

"You don't see it, do you?"

"See what?" I shook my head.

"Have I really failed you that miserably?" He fell to the ground and placed his head in his hands. Like he was defeated, he sat there in silence, occasionally his shoulders heaving. I sat beside him, unsure if I should just leave and head home or if I should stay and placate him a little longer. But it seemed like he was losing his mind, his dignity and everything else that went with it. He perked up, reached over to his bag and pulled out a sword. A sword that wouldn't normally fit in such a small bag.

"What the hell is that?!" I gasped as he took began pulling up his other pant leg. Slowly he pulled the sword up and cut his right leg. Blood began to pour out. "August, stop it! Please stop it! What is the matter with you?!" I cried.

"Emma, you have to see." He took the sword, with both hands, and dug it into this left leg, the leg that was causing him so much pain. Maybe he was trying to amputate the pain. Maybe he had finally lost it. "Emma, look…" I didn't even notice my eyes had clenched so tight. As I relented and finally opened them, I saw what he had been seeing this whole time. The sword stood tall in his left, wooden leg. His leg was literally wooden. And the rest of his limbs were beginning to turn as well.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I told you…You are the only one who can save us. On your 16th birthday you are to break the curse and set all of us free…including me." Desperation was pouring from his eyes. He was telling the truth. It was all true. "This sword is your father's sword. If you truly believe what I'm telling you, and you hold his sword with goodness and love then you will have enough to break free from her clutches." His words stopped, as his entire face was consumed with wood.

It was all so surreal. None of this made sense. This couldn't really be happening. I struggled to even take a breath. But I was snapped back into reality when a tree branch was cracked behind me. I quickly turned to see my mother, dressed in all black, standing in the dark of the night.

"Sweetheart…What are you doing?"

"I- I don't know…" I looked all around me, and especially at the wooden man laying on the ground beside me. Her eyes traveled there as well. For some reason I was shocked to see a smirk come across her lips, but I'm not sure why.

"Come on, let's go." She waved her arms at me, as if she was herding cattle.

"No." I whispered.

"Excuse me?" She sounded surprised that I would dare defy her.

"No." I said loud and clear. "This is true, isn't it?" I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

"Tell me…What do you think? Do you think I could possibly be the Evil Queen?" She looked in my eyes and avoided my question, even though my answer was lying on the ground like a log. Everything was beginning to make sense. All of it made sense. How angry she was, how everyone hated her and feared her. How no one could remember a lick of their past and never thought to question it. All of the stories I have read are living in this town, and have been blatantly staring at me for fourteen years and I never thought to care about anyone enough to just pay attention.

"I think that if it's true you're going to be pretty terrified if I pick up this sword." I slowly bent down to open August's hard fingers that were wrapped around the handle. His blood still remained on the tip of the sword. I looked up to see her starting towards me, which only quickened me. I furiously peeled one finger back at a time. Finally, I took the handle into my possession and stood there waiting. Nothing was happening. Mom began to chuckle.

"You see? Your friend, here, is sick. He needs help…"

"Then how did you know I was here?" I held the sword tighter. She came closer and I directed the sword's tip towards her. She backed off slightly, raising her hands above her head.

"I saw you run in here. I heard you crying, so I came after you." She was lying. I could tell. It was in her eyes and on her face.

Like August said, when I need guidance when I need my fate, I should look to the Northern Star. Closing my eyes I turned towards the brightest and biggest star in the sky, holding my father's sword as tightly as possible and raising it above my head. All that I had left to do was make my birthday wish. I made a wish earlier tonight to have my freedom from the hope of finding my biological parents, but now I'm wishing for the freedom of my town.

In that moment I felt invincible.

A light projected from my body, a force field of sorts. My mom began to ran, and August was starting to return to his human flesh. It was happening. I was fulfilling my destiny.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any rights to characters or the show at all.

**Author's Note**: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please feel free to comment or review!


	2. Chapter 2

Moments turned into minutes, and these precious minutes have never felt so surreal. My mother had her arms wrapped around me so tightly and my father's shoulder burying my face I had forgotten there was even a world out there. Not to mention the world staring at us. As I lifted my head I saw a crowd beginning to swarm around. People laughing, smiling, some even crying. But there wasn't one eye not locked on the Royal family's reunion. My eyes scanned the crowds. She was standing there. Just a minute ago she had been calling for me. Now she's gone. My heart ached slightly.

"Uh…I think this belongs to you." I pulled the sword from my side and handed it to David. His eyes settled in mine. He smiled and took it from my hand.

"I think you deserve this more than I do." His fingers ran along the crested handle and handed it back to me. "How did you find this?"

"Actually, it found me…" I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Mary Margaret ran her hand along my cheek and was memorizing every inch of me. Every time I imagined this moment, I pictured myself being one hundred percent blissful. Right now, I'm anything but. All I can think about is how this woman and this man are characters from a story and how my mom is the villain. It just doesn't feel real.

"What happens now?" I ask Mary Margaret. She looks back at David.

"I'm not sure…But I do know, that we're together now… So everything is going to be okay."

But before I had time to think, a purple mist started to gather in the distance. It was growing thicker and coming closer. Mary Margaret reached for David and both of their arms reached for me. I could see where it was coming from. I knew it wasn't far away. If I knew my mom, like I think I do, she was behind this. I pulled away from their arms, looked at August, and we were both off running. We ran faster and faster. Eventually we found ourselves in the thick of the forest, jumping over roots and limbs. August was slightly ahead of me, his hands in balled fists. Not far behind I could hear Mary Margaret and David running. Augusts' eyes lit up with a firing redish-purple and I could tell we were racing the fog.

Our legs stopped in our tracks as we saw Gold standing only a matter of ten feet in front of us. He was bent over a well. Mary Margaret and David crashed into me. Her arms pulled me in like a straight jacket.

"What have you done?!" David yelled.

Gold turned around with a smirk pasted on his face. The purple fog swept over us. Mary Margaret placed her hands over my face and I instinctually buried myself in her shoulder. But as soon as it came over us was as soon as it left. We couldn't see a visible difference, but if felt different. In fact, it felt very different.

"You're too late, Prince Charming." Gold said with a chuckle.

Without asking David grabbed the sword on my hip and ran towards Gold. Mary Margaret pleaded with him to stop, reminding him that Rumpel was never worth it. August even told him to stop. But David was in his own world.

"What did you bring here?!" He placed the tip of the sword at Gold's neck. Like a joke, Gold began to laugh. His laugh was demonic. Gold waved his hand, so effortlessly, and the sword went flying. Mary Margaret yelped.

"Just a little balance to this world, Deary!" Gold glared right through David and directly at Mary Margaret and me. "You don't understand how much it warms my heart to see you all reunited. It truly is beautiful." Gold took a step towards us, but David stood in front of him.

"You stay away from my family." He grumbled.

"It's not me that you need to be worried about."

"Then who?" Mary Margaret asked.

But it was obvious who he was speaking of. We all knew. August put his head down the water well. But he came back up even more puzzled. I tried shaking Mary Margaret's hands from my jacket, but it was like a death grip.

"The Queen, of course. You thought she had a score to settle with you before? Now that you have her daughter, I think it's going to get a little bloodier."

"Where is she?" David pushed the recovered sword in Gold's face again.

"If I had to guess I would say trying to survive." He chuckled to himself as he wrung his hands. With a snap of his fingers he was gone. Nothing left of him, but his eerie laughing still ringing through the trees.

"What does he mean? Where's my mom?" I looked at Mary Margaret, but she looked just as dumbfounded as me. August kicked a pile of rocks. We all felt defeated.

David agreed that there was nothing left for us to do here. We all started heading back towards the center of town. Everyone was still standing where we had left them. Granny and Ruby were talking amongst a crowd of dwarves. Mary Margaret, David, and August rejoined their friends. I stayed back and looked around. This town I grew up in, the one I felt I was growing out of, looked so diffierent. It didn't feel as safe. It didn't seem as sweet. This broken curse tainted everything so quaint. It didn't make sense to me why my mother would run. She isn't scared of anything. She wouldn't run from fear. She must have been running towards something. I looked at the group of people talking and plotting. I used that time to slip out unnoticed. If they knew I wanted to see Regina then they would insist on coming with me.

As soon as I was out of their sight I took the back roads. Climbing over fences, running through backyards, and going down alleys, I was able to make my way home without anyone ever seeing me. Throwing my front door open, I walked into my very quiet house. I wasn't even sure she was here. A soft thump echoed from upstairs. She was in her office. Jumping the steps two at a time, I walked through the bare hallway until I came to her office door. It was cracked open. I knocked lightly and pushed it open. The whole room had been torn apart. The door slammed behind me, and a startled Regina stood there.

"Oh, Emma! I thought it was someone else…" She threw her arms around me. She lightly kissed the side of my head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." She smiled and grabbed a box off of the floor.

"Hold this for me." It was a hat box.

She had taken everything out of its place. She had burned papers. She was preparing to leave. She grabbed a necklace from her safe and ushered me out of the room. She was running from room to room collecting all of her belongings. I watched as she piled meaningless things into a suitcase. She grabbed my backpack and told me to pack whatever I wanted to bring with me. There was nothing I could say to bring her back to reality. She was leaving, and in her mind she was leaving with me. But I think we both knew it wasn't going to be that simple. I did as she said and packed a few things I couldn't stand to be apart from, like my blanket, a few pairs of clothes, my phone, and the book August had given me. With one last look at my house I descended down the staircase and found her ransacking the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Far away. Somewhere they will never find us."

Everything felt so rushed. One second I'm celebrating my sixteenth birthday and the next I've found my biological parents Snow White and Prince Charming, my mother is the Evil Queen and there is now magic in this world. It was too fast. My allegiance couldn't swing so quickly. Of course, I loved my mom. And of course I wanted to protect her. But there was a huge part of me that was scared of who she is capable of being.

"We can't leave now. What about everyone else?" Her eyes burned right through me.

"Everyone else? They plan on killing me, Emma. I need to protect us. We can't stay here."

It seemed like she was prepared. She had a bag and was holding the hat box. I had my backpack over my shoulder, nervous to breathe out of line. She was infuriated, anxious and spiteful. Her master plan was to keep me away from Mary Margaret and David. She didn't care how I felt, or who I was leaving behind. In her opinion I was property. Without even looking back she grabbed my hand and led us out the back door. We were like rodents creeping underneath trees and along sidewalks. I'm not even sure where we were headed. She kept pulling me along. The whole time my heart was palpitating. It felt like any second my world was going to be turned upside down again. The whole town was in an uprise. Chants and screams were coming from every direction. I could see the fear in Mom's eyes.

"Where are we going Mom?" She looked back at me. Her hand waved me in front of her as we heard the mob get closer. "Why are we running?"

"Enough questions!" Her tone got harsh and she wagged her finger in my face. From my prior experience, that usually means she's reaching a point where she will snap if I don't stop.

She led us into a cemetery. We maneuvered around headstones and headed straight towards a tomb. She grabbed a ring of keys from her bag and started trying every key to unlock the front doors of this mausoleum. It was too late, though. They had found us and everyone began running through the cemetery. Mom pushed me inside once she had finagled the door open. She slammed the door, locking it behind us. She yelled at me to help her push a coffin to the side, but I froze.

"This isn't right, Mom…" Her only response was to yell at me to help her.

With a wave of her hand she had moved the tomb with simple magic. But now everyone was banging on the doors and screaming. I couldn't tell if they were after Mom or me, or both of us. When she moved the coffin, it revealed a staircase. She basically dragged me down the stairs. I took my backpack and threw it in the corner.

"Do you want them to kill us?! Do you want them to take you away from me?" She yelled.

"They won't hurt you. I promise! Mom, we can stop all of this!"

She placed the hat box in the center of the dungeon and began opening it. Her fingers hurriedly pulled out an old, dusty hat with a broken brim.

"I am stopping all of this, Emma." She tried spinning the hat. But it wouldn't spin.

She tried again and again. It sounded as though they had broken through the front door. We could hear the rumblings from above of everyone trying to push the coffin aside. My stomach was in my throat. I wanted to reach her. I just wanted to tell her to stop, but when my hand touched her shoulder the hat began to spin, and spin fast. A suction- hole took control of the floor. Mom handed me my backpack and grabbed my hand. Mary Margaret and David jumped off the staircase. Mary Margaret reached as far as she could for me, but her arms were too short.

"You're too late, Snow!" Mom yelled from across the hole to them.

Tears began running down her face. As Mom's legs bent to jump, we were hit backwards. My eyes turned to see the Blue Fairy with balls of electric blue energy in her palms. Mom tried to pull herself up but David and Mary Margaret had made their way over and David had her down by her neck. Mary Margaret pulled me up, but restrained me as I lunged to help my mom.

"Don't hurt her!" I yelled at David. As soon as those words left my mouth he was sent flying into the wall. Mom stood up, her hands now had a ball of electric red fire and no one was protected from her wrath.

"Jump in, Emma….Emma, listen to your me! Jump in and I will follow." Her eyes were different. She wasn't Mom anymore. I could see it in her eyes, she was the Evil Queen. Her hands were held high with a burning fire, threatening Mary Margaret. But I couldn't move. My heart was racing, but for the first time my feet stood still. It was just Mary Margaret and me standing against her. We were all that was left of the hoards of people.

"I will never let you take my child, Regina. Not again."

One of Regina's hands rose and the other one used an invisible rope to pull me from Mary Margaret's embrace. She threw a ball of fire towards Mary Margaret, but on instinct and without really thinking, I leapt in front of it.

The last thing I can really remember after being hit was a burning sensation running through my blood stream and down my entire body. Slowly I felt my body slipping and as the burning took control over my entirety I felt weightless. The last thing I could feel was a hand grabbing mine.


	3. Chapter 3

When I found Charming I knew that I was never going to love anyone as much. He made my heart beat. He gave me purpose. Never have I ever felt that comfort and love with anyone else. When I became pregnant, Charming and I could not have been happier. We turned our beautiful love into something even more beautiful. Her every hiccup, every kick, every turn was a reminder of how perfect my life was. I imagined having a beautiful little girl who would have Charming's eyes and hair, and my face and tenacity. I pictured our family riding horse-back on Sunday mornings and having dinner together every night. I was excited for the day I could brush my daughter's hair with the paddle brush my mother used on my own hair, and helping her with her studies. I wanted memories. Instead I became nothing but a memory to her. She barely knows me. I am an idea rather than a presence.

But the night I gave birth to our beautiful little girl I vowed to protect her. Regina's evil ways wouldn't touch my child. Unfortunately, I didn't know how badly my plan would backfire. Since I couldn't protect my daughter then, I've done everything I can to protect her now. That includes jumping into a portal after her.

The sun had woken me about an hour ago. I took the time I had alone to assess the area, gather food, and figure out our plan. Not to mention, I spent a majority of the time Emma was still unconscious to just watch her sleep. That was another thing I really missed in her childhood. I could see her begin to stir, so I dropped the wood I was collecting and ran to her side.

"Wh-Where are we?" Her hand touched her cut forehead. I had cleaned it out while she was still asleep. She pulled herself up on her forearms and looked around.

"We're in the Enchanted Forest…" I looked at the cuts and bruises on her cheeks as well as her arms. "How are you feeling?" She pushed my hand from her face and stood up on her own.

"I'm fine. Where's my mom? What happened to David?" Panic struck her.

She didn't remember what happened, because when she fell she hit her head. When I saw her fall into the portal there was never a doubt in my mind that I should follow her. All I cared about was catching her hand in time. The last thing I remember, before waking up in the Enchanted Forest, was seeing Regina jump in after us. But that was the last time I saw her.

"I'm not sure. Last I saw Regina was following us, and David was back in the mausoleum." I watched as she brushed dirt from her clothes and pull her hair up off her neck.

"How did we get here? How do we get back home?"

She began to pace nervously, looking around and trying to figure how to get out. Her scowl was just like her father's. It was the way her eyebrows furrowed. However, I am biased. I love seeing the love of my life in our daughter. She was walking in circles, so much so I couldn't even keep my eyes on her long enough. Eventually I had to just grab her by the shoulders and command her attention. For the first time, our eyes connected. There was an undeniable tether between us. I could feel our connection with every fiber in my being. A pull in my heart sank all the way to my stomach by just looking in those beautiful, perfect and familiar eyes. She licked her lips and calmed herself down for just a moment.

"I promise you that I will get us back to Storybrooke. You need to trust in me, okay? I will take care of us." Without thinking about it I put the palm of my hand over her cheek and pulled her close in. More surprising than me reaching out to her is her not pulling away from me. She closed her eyes and drew in a long, deep breath. "Now we need to get going. It's going to get dark soon and we have a walk ahead of us."

She didn't follow me, but rather stared off into space. This whole other world was so different to her. It must be so confusing. She was born in this world, grew up in that one, but her whole family is from this one. This place is magical in every sense of the word. This is where my mother taught me how to rule as queen humbly and kindly. This is where I fell in love for the first time. This is the same place I fought for my life and freedom, yet the place I gave birth to this beautiful baby girl. She didn't know how much power this place already held for her.

"Wait!" She raced to catch up with me. "Where are we heading?"

"Well, Emma…We're going home." She raised her eyebrows and I'm pretty sure I saw a smile creep up.

These woods were my home. My kingdom was my home, but for a huge part of my life these woods were my salvation. I had spent a lot of timing memorizing paths, remembering which side moss grows on each tree. It wasn't hard for me to figure out exactly how far away home was. If we kept walking with very minimal breaks then we would be there before dusk. But I've never done this kind of hike with a sixteen year old teenage girl. It surprises me how little her attention span is. But I wouldn't change it for a second, because our conversation never ended. She asked questions about the Enchanted Forest and I gave her everything I knew. She stayed close beside me the whole time. Every time I looked over and saw my daughter standing beside me, it literally gave me chills and I would be overcome with sadness that Charming wasn't here to enjoy it with me.

We'd spent hours searching for water. She had mentioned a few times that she needed something to drink sow when I saw a clearing up ahead I told her we would stop for a drink. We climbed over the mounds of rocks to look over the lake. It looked bare. The grass was dead, and trees were scarce.

"This place was once the most beautiful piece of land I have ever seen." I placed my hand over my eyes and we stared out at the sun hiding just behind the mountains.

"It still is…"

I reached for her hand to help her off the rocks and towards the lake. We scooped our hands into the water and drank until we couldn't drink any more. She fell into the sand.

"Do you think they're okay? Regina and David?" She drew her fingers in the sand, trying to avoid my eyes.

"If I know David, he is figuring out a way to get to us as we speak." She nodded and continued to run her fingers along the grains. I stood up and brushed the sand off my clothes. If I was right, we only had a few more miles before we would be there. But the sun was beginning to set, so we were racing daylight.

We grabbed one more sip of water before setting back on the path. It was my priority that I got us out of these woods and into somewhere safe before darkness took over. Since we've been gone, this place changed. It's no longer safe. Every few minutes we could hear the rumblings of an ogre or the screeches of wilds animals. Emma put on a brave face, but I knew she was scared.

"There it is…Home."

It was still standing, in all of its glory. It was just as beautiful as when we left it. It feels right to have Emma by my side as we walk into the house she was born in and the last place we were together as a family. My hand reached for hers as we crossed the draw bridge and entered through the grand archway. Most of the walls were crumbling, and the furniture was thrown throughout, most of it faded to a harsh color. We stepped over chairs and tables to make our way through.

"You lived here?" She stood in the center of the main entrance, her head positioned towards the sky and circling around. "It's huge!"

"We lived here…" I wanted to emphasize that this was her life, too. She has always been a part of my equation.

The one reason I came here wasn't for the memories, even though it felt incredibly invigorating to be home. I came here because the only portal I knew may still exist in our home. Actually, it may still be in Emma's bedroom. The same portal that took my daughter to Maine may do it once more. The stairs seemed to be in rougher shape then I remember, but we were able to rush up them fast enough without them threatening a collapse. I let her lead us through, because it seemed like she knew instinctually where she was. She walked into her bedroom as though she's walked into that room every day. She walked into it as if it were actually her bedroom.

In the corner, beyond the crib and torn wall paper, was the portal. Emma stepped outside on the balcony while I examined our ride home. The wood was still intact. It was still held together, a little rough around the edges, but it looked like it may work.

"I can't believe this is actually your- our…our home." Her elbows leaned against the railing.

The moon hung high in the sky, enveloping the black despair and outlined with a cluster of stars. I stepped out onto the balcony beside her, and the bitter air hit me. I took my sweater off and draped it over her shoulders. This air was so much fresher than Storybrooke's. It was just a hint of clarity mixed with slight sweetness. It felt like I hadn't been breathing this whole time, and I was finally able to just inhale. It opened every pore in my body.

"A long time ago…"

She stared far off into the night. I left her to daydream a little, so I could try the portal. It looked a little worn, but ultimately it looked functional. So I opened the door, placed a teddy bear laying on the ground, inside and shut the doors tightly. After a few moments I opened it and saw the teddy bear sitting right where I placed it. Nothing.

We tried everything we could. We tried shaking it, kicking it, closing our eyes and wishing. We tried everything we could, but it wasn't working. Emma collapsed on the floor beside it, placing her head on the ground and folding her hands on her stomach. I laid down beside her and tried to catch my breath.

"If this doesn't work what are we going to do?" She said softly.

"We make it work. All we need is magic."

"Well, where do we get that?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. But, I will find it."

I turned my head to see her, and along her cheek rolled one single tear. It careened its way down her cheek bones identical to mine. My hand pulled hers off her stomach and held it tightly. She squeezed back and tried to pull her tears in. To show emotion was a trait my mother made me appreciate. It was those, like Regina or Rumpel, who couldn't show emotion that lacked meaning in their lives. There were so many lessons I wanted to teach my child. My dream was to be able to nurture and love her in the loving way my mother did with me. I wanted her to know what love was and to never fear it. Being raised by Regina could only mean she was taught to rely on no one but herself and to reject hope. If I were to know that by sending my daughter away meant she would end up with Regina, I would have spent every day in that spell never knowing who I truly was.

Eventually we fell asleep on the floor of Emma's nursery. Our hands intertwined, I pressed my eyes tight and envisioned Charming on the other side of me. Sixteen years away from my daughter, and my husband. It physically hurt not to have him here with me and our daughter, but having Emma was a huge consolation. She was half of him. And it was obvious she was his daughter. Her smile, her laugh, her eyes, fearlessness was everything she inherited from her dad.

The next morning we rose with the sun. I forgot how different of a lifestyle it was in the Enchanted Forest. Every morning the sun seemed to rise and shine brighter than in Storybrooke. It wasn't nearly as hard to wake up in the morning. Emma had woken before me and already went outside to explore a little. She came back with two handfuls of berries. Some were poisonous, others were rotten, but regardless her effort was admirable. The brook was still running smoothly under the bridge, so I pulled up a gallon of water and brought it to the feast of berries. We sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room with nothing but our hands for plates. For the first time, we had a real conversation. We talked about nothing, but it felt like everything. She told me how she rides horses and has won every single show she's done. She said she hates Math, but loves History. And she said her best friend, August, was the only person she ever felt really close to. She had a hard time making friends in school because she felt like no one would give her a chance after everything her mother, Regina, had done to the community. I remember her having a hard time fitting in at school. She was just different than everyone else. Most teachers blamed it on Regina, but I always thought Emma had a spark. Little did I know the beautiful, innocent, blonde-hair beauty I enjoyed watching was actually my child. Regina's curse took my life from me, and drained the emotion from my heart. It was so terrible that I didn't even know my own daughter was in my classroom.

After breakfast we ransacked the castle for weapons and sustenance for our trip. Emma came running down the stairs with a sword of her father's and my bow and arrows. The look of triumph on her face was absolutely adorable.

"I found them underneath the bed!" She handed me the bow.

I brushed dust from the top of her head and pulled the bag of arrows over my shoulder. She tucked the sword in a holster wrapped around her waist. Our clothes were filthy and torn, but I didn't have clothes here anymore so I couldn't even change. Poor Emma had only a shirt and jeans. There was a sheet in the maid's closet I tucked into a backpack for tonight if she got cold.

"Do you know how to shoot arrows?"

"Are you kidding? They are my weapon of choice. Do you know how?"

"I've never even seen one before." She admitted.

"Come on…." I led her to the back yard.

Standing at about a fifty foot distance, we aimed our shots at the big oak I used to practice on all of the time. She tried holding the bow, but her arms were loose. I pulled them up in a firm, comfortable position. Then I lowered her aim so the arrow was directly in line with the bullseye. She pulled the string back quickly.

"Wait….Relax. You need to hold it firmly, but you need to guide it so you can't just whip it around. Close your right eye, stare the target down until the tip of your arrow is in direct line with it. Then, before you release, breathe. That's a very key point to remember. Everyone forgets to breathe." She nodded, sucked in a deep breath and as she released the air in her lungs, her fingers released the bow and arrow. It glided directly into the center of the target. Her eyes shot open wide and she jumped up and down a few times with glee.

"I did it!" I laughed uncontrollably at her excitement.

"You're a natural, kid." She came back down to earth, but was still smiling. "It must be in your genes." I winked, and she smirked back at me.

Once we both shot a few times, we gathered all of the arrows and sharpened them before we started out on our trek. The only way to get magic was to go looking for it. I remember Charming telling me about this lake, before. The waters of this lake had a rejuvenating property. Meaning that whatever this water touched would return it back to its original form. If the lake was still there then we could collect the water and bring it back to the dresser. If it wasn't, then we would need to come up with another plan, but for now this is all I could think of. Emma didn't seem to mind the hike. She was so intrigued by the woods. Her head jerked in every direction. Her questions weren't just about the forest, but about everyone in the forest. She had questions about people I have never even heard of before. Apparently she's seen some of their movies. What Emma didn't understand is that in Storybrooke the Enchanted Forest is just a fairytale land, and all of its inhabitants are characters. In reality, in this world, they are people with real feelings and real lives.

"What's that, Mary Margaret?" She whispered and outstretched her finger to a huge depression in the ground in front of us.

It was a footprint. Of an animal I've had to fend off many of times before. It was the size of the entire length of my body. A small branch broke, and immediately I put my mouth over Emma's mouth and silently told her we needed to be quiet. She nodded. The silence was suddenly filled with rumbling and roaring. The trees were parting, falling to the ground, and the ground shook. It heard us.

"What is it?" She whispered.

"Ogre." I replied softly.

It was within seconds that it found our location. They worked off of sound and scent, since they were blind. It must have heard us talking or walking. The only thing to do once an ogre has found you is to run and run fast. As it got closer we couldn't keep silent anymore. I grabbed Emma's shoulders and yelled _Run!_ in her face. That was all it took. She started sprinting so fast that I could barely keep up with her. We came into a clearing, but only five yards away was a forest. Emma didn't even need me to tell her where to go, she was heading straight towards it. My right foot got stuck underneath a root, and it brought my entire body down with it. I looked up to see Emma disappearing into the woods. Lying on my stomach I could feel the ogre towering over me. I reached for my bow and arrow but it had flung ahead of me when I fell. I turned to my back and saw its nostrils flare as it breathed in my scent. It opened its mouth and let out a screech. The gust of wind was so strong I could barely hold myself up. At least Emma was safe. As I closed my eyes to avoid watching whatever was going to happen, a whistle echoed through the trees and the ogre stood up. Emma. My bow was in her arms, and an arrow was lined in the ogre's path. She took a deep breath and let it out. Just like that an arrow was pierced into the ogre's eye. It fell over in pain. I got up and ran directly towards her, colliding into her and lifting her off her feet.

"You should have kept running, sweetheart!" I smiled into her neck.

"You can't leave me here alone!" She choked out. Her arms were so tightly wrapped around my neck I could barely breathe. I put her on her feet and smiled so proudly at her.

"Never again." I grabbed her hand and we ran together – in complete sync.


	4. Chapter 4

We walked through the night. It wasn't safe to set up camp when we were so close to the ogres. The moon's light shed a pathway through the entire forest bright enough for us to see. I remembered that the Northern Star was a compass and was able to navigate our way to the lake by that. Emma was still shaking from her run-in with the ogre. She hadn't said a word since. It's never easy killing anything, and I wasn't about to rush her into thinking that what she did has no consequences. But I wanted her to know that protecting your family goes beyond sympathy for a monster. She did what I would have done, and what Charming would have done. Her eyes were still full of fear. It was just the beginning of something for her. Her feet dragged on the ground. Her whole existence had been drained.

Without saying anything, I placed my arm over her shoulders and walked beside her. After a few moments she placed her hands over her face and started sobbing. Her head lay in the crook of my shoulder. Her tears were soaking through my sweater. My hand gently rubbed her back and I tried calming her down.

"I just want to go home." She was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath. "I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to eat real food and take a hot shower."

"I know…" I said softly, kissing the top of her head. Instead of telling her how frivolous her worries are, I reassured her that she would have these all again soon. It was just a matter of patience.

When I was sixteen I was running through these woods looking for a moment's peace. All I wanted was to make it another day. I didn't worry about showering or eating a warm cooked meal, I just worried about survival. We came from two very different worlds. Hers wasn't worse or better than mine, but different. What is so important to her was never as important to me. But I have also never gone through the life she has. Understanding her conflicted heart wasn't so difficult, because my heart has been conflicted before.

"What's going to happen to me after this?" Her tears settled, but now she was catching her breath.

"Well….What do you want to happen?" Her eyes looked up into mine.

"I don't know. I just- I want my mom to be happy. And I want you and David to be happy. But I feel like whatever I decide to do someone's going to be hurt. And I don't want to hurt anybody!"

This had been plaguing her thoughts for a while. She must have been wracking her brain the whole time we've been here. Her entire life was about to change. Just a few days ago she was living with Regina in that gorgeous house, and going to school every day thinking that she was Emma Mills, the daughter of the Mayor. Then she breaks a curse and finds her biological parents, who just happen to be Snow White and Prince Charming. Everything she once knew to be her normal has shifted, and now nothing is normal. Everything is extremely different. Now she had choices. She had two sets of parents to choose from. She has two very different lives to choose from, too. She could go back to being Emma Mills, the Mayor's daughter. She could live with Regina and continue being who she has always known to be. Or she could follow her destiny and fulfill her role as The Savior. A life that meant she was born in the Enchanted Forest, and was the product of true love. Either choice she made Charming and I will fight like hell to be a part of her life. If that meant having to bring her to school every morning just to see her that day, then that is what we'll have to do. We have spent enough time away from her that neither of us will be willing to sacrifice any more time.

"Listen to me, okay? I need you to really hear me…" She nodded. "It is not one or the other. When we get back to Storybrooke and you decide you want to live with David and me, and see Regina whenever you want, then we will support that. If you want to live with Regina and see David and me whenever you want, then we'll support that too. We are the parents here. While I know that Regina and I don't agree on many things…or anything… I hope I can speak for everyone when I say that your happiness takes all precedence. You are our number one priority."

She soaked it in and nodded softly. We started to walk, in silence. My arm was still draped over her shoulders. She put her fingers in between mine and leaned her head against my shoulder. My head fell on hers. We continued through the forest in this way until our legs grew too weak. The water was so close that I couldn't stop now. I could see it from here. As we neared the sand Emma threw down her bags, kicked off her shoes and she ran in. Watching her jump in the water elicited a small giggle. Sometimes I forgot how young she still is. Like a little girl, she laughed as kicking the water and splashing it on her face. I pulled out the canteens and began to fill them. The sun had just begun to peak over the mountains and its rays began to fill the land.

"Come in! It's really warm!" She yelled to me. I shook my head no and screwed the caps back on. "Wait, seriously?"

"I am fine here…" I sat in the sand with my feet in front of me.

There was devilish glint in her eyes. Her hands cut through the water and drenched me from head to toe. In shock , I wiped the water from my eyes. Emma's smile faded to a grimace. She wasn't sure what I was going to do. I think I took both of us by surprise when I lunged into the water knocking us both under. I'm not even sure how long we spent swimming. It felt like hours. It was the first time since being here that I didn't feel this constant nagging in my stomach to protect us and find a way out. Spending this time with her made me really feel like I've missed out. More than anything I wish I could have spent the past sixteen years falling more in love with our child than I already am. David would love this too.

Together we packed everything back up and carried our filled canteens back through the forest. It was a day's time when we saw the castle. It was all adrenaline. We raced inside, giddy to finally have answers. We skipped the stairs two at a time and burst into her nursery. She was laughing when we stumbled into her room and found someone standing in front of the wardrobe. Emma and I stopped in our tracks. He rose to his feet and turned swiftly, his sword held in his hand.

"David!" I ran into his bruised arms.

His shirt was torn and his jeans were covered in mud. There was a little cut on his cheek. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was he found us. Our lips blended together that I couldn't feel anything else in my body but his warmth. He pressed his forehead against mine and cupped my face, smiling from ear-to-ear.

"You found us!" Tears rushed along my cheeks.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" He whispered against my lips.

"_How_ did you know we would be here?!" I kissed his lips over and over again. He chuckled, just trying to catch a moment to speak.

"I found a portal. I knew you would come back here."

"Emma!" I shouted, remembering our daughter was standing behind us. She came walking towards us, smiling. David and I opened our arms to her and the three of us hugged. He kissed the top of her head and smiled down at me. Our hearts reveled in the moment we had been waiting for since the day he placed Emma in that wardrobe.

There was one day, sixteen years and two months ago, when I was standing on Emma's nursery's balcony, memorizing the rise and fall of the mountains beyond the forest. David came behind me, and placed his hands on the baby. It was the last time the three of us were together in this room, as a family. That day was one of the greatest moments of my life. It was the last time I felt truly complete. An air of reminiscence stung my heart as David and I stood here with our sixteen-year-old daughter, both of our arms wrapped around her.

"Are you okay?!" He checked every inch of Emma. She nodded and shrugged off his worries. "I was you worried about you two."

"We're fine! We took care of each other." She looked at me with a smile of pride.

The three of us spent hours catching up on the past few days. He raised his eyebrow when I told him about Emma defeating the ogre. Emma demonstrated her new bow and arrow skills. She told her animated version of our trek through the woods, hearing all of the animals at night and having to kill our food. We shared stories like real family does. David told Emma how he has never seen the Forest in this state of disaster before. In our time it used to be the most beautiful land. We took pride in harvesting and maintaining this kingdom. She was quick to remind him that she remembers what it used to look like, after all she has been reading about us for years.

Emma left us to figure out the wardrobe. She stepped out on the balcony and was looking out at all of the land. I explained to David why we gathered the water from Lake Nostos, and he thought it brilliant. We kneeled down, unscrewing the cap from the canteen and poured the water generously over the top. A wave of purple and blue emanated. David and I stood back, hoping and praying that this would be the final trick we needed. I, quickly, grabbed whatever stuffed animal was closest. We looked at each other reluctantly before shutting the doll in the cupboard. Moments later, we swung the doors opened and we were overjoyed to see it was missing. I called to Emma, but she didn't respond. We both spun on our heels to not see her standing on the balcony where she was last.

"Emma?" David called.

We turned around to find Emma missing, but in her place stood Regina. She was dressed in the clothes she was in last. However, there was no dirt or dust on her blouse. Her hair looked freshly washed, and her makeup untouched. It looks as though she found shelter these past few days. David grabbed the sword off the ground and I pulled an arrow from my bag.

"Where's Emma?!" David shouted.

All Regina did was smile. She moved through the room swiftly, she looked at David with half a smirk. We aimed our weapons directly at her head, but it didn't stop her. She ran her finger over the wardrobe.

"It's funny how it worked out, isn't it? You put your baby in this wardrobe to protect her from me. But this very wardrobe led her directly into my arms." David and I both stiffened.

"Give me my daughter!" I yelled through gritted teeth.

"No. She is _my_ daughter! I'm giving you two the opportunity for your happily-ever-after. You can go back to Storybrooke right now and have an uninterrupted life together."

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Regina would ever give David and I the chance at a real life together. She has spent every waking hour making our lives miserable. It was a dream of ours to live in a world where she didn't exist. It really would be our happily-ever-after. But that was before Emma. Our happily-ever-after is now being together as a family, not as a couple. No matter how sweet of a deal she offers, it would be nothing without our daughter.

"And then what? You'll live here with Emma? Do you honestly think she's going to be happy here? With you?"

"She has been for the past sixteen years. If you think for one second that I will lose my child to the two of you, then you are sadly mistaken." She turned towards me. Our noses were nearly touching.

"We will find her. That is what this family does. We always find each other."

David and I exchanged an all-knowing look: we would find her. There was no other option. We were not going to leave our child with Regina, not again. We made that mistake once before, and I wasn't about to do it again. He reached for my hand and squeezed gently. Regina rolled her eyes and scoffed. She broke our arms apart by rushing through them, and running her fingers now along Emma's baby crib. She picked up a stuffed animal and played with it softly. There was some kind redeeming quality in this woman. It was obvious that she cared about Emma, whether or not those feelings were genuine or truthful they were feelings. While she was turned around David grabbed the back of her head and placed his blade along her throat.

"Don't do this, Regina. If you love Emma like you say you do, then you wouldn't force her to choose between us. Just let all of us go back together."

With a snap of her fingers David's sword was thrown to the side of the room. She turned around with an evil glare and laughed directly in David's face.

"Why would I go back to that insufferable place? I have all I need here. I have my child, my kingdom, and my magic. What else is there for me, exactly?"

"You cannot take her away from everything she's ever known! She needs her family and whether you like it or not, that is us!" I said.

Regina disintegrated the teddy bear into ashes. Her anger ignited balls of fire in each of her palms. She used her magic to push David against a wall and vines appeared from the walls to tie him so tightly he could barely breathe. Every arrow I tried to shoot at her was quickly snapped in half with the just a wave of her hand. She threw me against the wall as well, as my back slid against the stones she towered over me. We had been in this position many times before. She thought that she had bested me, and my faith was telling me I had lost the battle but I was about to win the war.

"Why are you doing this to us? To Emma?"

"Because I have spent my entire life trying to make you feel the pain I felt when you killed the love of my life. And now you will. You will spend every second, of every single day longing after your child. That will be enough pain to kill someone."

The doors of the wardrobe were thrown open, and David and I were pulled into it. With one last look, the doors slammed shut and we were being sucked in like a vacuum into a dark abyss. He clutched my fingers as we spun, and shook. Suddenly we fell, and we fell hard. A bright light shot at us, and suddenly everything had stopped. Charming stepped his foot out of the tree we were in, and offered to help me out. Sitting on the ground was the very stuffed animal we had sent through. It only took us a moment to realize where exactly we had landed. Storybrooke. My body gave out. I sank to my knees and sobbed. I pulled her doll close to my heart and screamed all of my pain and agony into it. I had just found her. And within the blink of an eye, I lost her.


End file.
